NATO Allies Endorse U.S. Plan for Limits on Missiles in Europe

America’s European allies endorsed a revised U.S. proposal for limiting nuclear missiles in Europe at the start of a NATO ministerial meeting Wednesday that is expected to be one of the most harmonious in recent years.

Backing for the U.S. plan to limit both the United States and the Soviet Union to 140 intermediate-range nuclear missile launchers in Europe came from the Special Consultative Group, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s chief arms control committee, as Secretary of State George P. Shultz arrived here for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

Committee chairman H. Allan Holmes, director of the State Department’s bureau of political-military affairs, said that Washington hopes to make the proposal more attractive to the Soviet Union by offering to place new restrictions on deployment of Pershing 2 ballistic missiles, the medium-range weapon most feared by Moscow because of its speed and accuracy.

Will Be Placed on Table

At a news conference at NATO headquarters here, Holmes declined to spell out the details of the proposal, which he said will be submitted to the Soviets when the arms control talks resume Jan. 16 in Geneva.

A senior American official said later that the United States is willing to substitute cruise missile launchers for Pershing 2s under the proposed 140-launcher ceiling. There are four cruise missiles per launcher, compared to only one for a Pershing 2, but cruise missiles are much slower and, therefore, pose less threat of surprise attack.

Holmes said, “We will be saying things about the mix that I think will be interesting” to the Soviets when the Geneva talks resume. But he refused to be more specific.

The consultative group met in advance of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting, scheduled to start today. Shultz said there are no major controversies facing the organization, which serves as NATO’s top policy-making body.

Talking to reporters aboard the jetliner that brought him from London, Shultz said that NATO is “at a very good stage right now,” having solved most of the disputes that enlivened previous meetings.

In one discordant note, Shultz told Turkish Foreign Minister Vahit Halefoglu that the United States is unlikely to agree to any substantial increases in aid to Turkey, which is currently running at almost $1 billion a year.

Ankara has asked for increased aid as part of talks, which are now in progress, concerning renewal of the agreement permitting the United States to maintain military bases in Turkey. Although U.S. officials insist that the two issues are not linked, Turkey clearly believes that the base-rights negotiations give it additional leverage.

The current five-year agreement ends Dec. 18, but a senior U.S. official said Shultz and Halefoglu agreed that the pact will be indefinitely extended, pending agreement on terms of a new one.

“We want to give all the help we can to Turkey,” Shultz said. “As far as amounts of money are concerned, I think everybody is going to have to take a deep breath and look at our budget deficit. The freedom of maneuver is severely limited.”

The United States proposed the 140-launcher limit on mid-range missiles--often called Euromissiles--on Nov. 1 as part of a counteroffer covering both those and intercontinental weapons.

Under the proposal, the Soviet Union would be required to reduce its SS-20 missiles deployed within range of West European targets to 140. An SS-20 launcher carries three warheads.

Holmes said the total Soviet SS-20 deployment “remains 441 launchers with 1,323 nuclear warheads” despite a Soviet announcement that it will unilaterally reduce the number of the mobile missiles. “We have seen no evidence of destruction of any of those missiles,” he added.

The consultative group reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to continue deployment of Pershing 2 and cruise missiles pending a Soviet arms agreement. The alliance is scheduled to deploy more than 500 missiles by the end of 1988.

Holmes said the 140-launcher level will be reached by the end of this year, but he declined to say how many will be Pershing 2s and how many, cruise missiles.